Council's are set a 'target' amount by the EU of how much waste they are allowed to landfill per annum, exceeding those tonnages results in hefty fines. With landfill tax now at £64 per tonne, (+ site operators fee per tonne, + VAT on that total), it can easily cost over £110 per tonne to landfill waste. Assuming a dustcart holding 10 tonnes, doing 2 loads a day, = £5500 a week. Cost of collecting and sorting recycling helps offset the landfill costs.
Newspaper and PAMS have a reasonable resale valve, tins, cardboard and (colour segregated) glass can be sold, plastic is the main problem. Many different types, time consuming to sort and need a hell of a heap to make a tonne! Greenwaste incurs a tipping charge, however as it is being composted then doesnt attract landfill tax.
There is no standard method of collection, it's left to each individual Council to set their own scheme. I have 2 bins, one for recycling (glass, paper, card, tins, plastic), one for everything else, collected alternate weeks, a bucket for foodwaste collected weekly, and garden waste is an opt in (chargeable) service. However, there is I believe a pending court case over whether councils are allowed to continue with the 'co-mingled' method of collecting recycling, or all recycling must be sorted at source......
